Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Augustus |
AugustusNoun1. Roman statesman who became emperor of Rome after defeating Mark Antony at Actium (63 BC - AD 14). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
"Augustus" is a name that signifies or is derived from: "great", "venerable", "increase", "increased", "augmented". |
Date "Augustus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Bible | Augustus the cognomen of the first Roman emperor, C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, during whose reign Christ was born (Luke 2:1). His decree that "all the world should be taxed" was the divinely ordered occasion of Jesus' being born, according to prophecy (Micah 5:2), in Bethlehem. This name being simply a title meaning "majesty" or "venerable," first given to him by the senate (B.C. 27), was borne by succeeding emperors. Before his death (A.D. 14) he associated Tiberius with him in the empire (Luke 3:1), by whom he was succeeded. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Literature | Augustus No proper name, but a mere title given to Octavian, because he was head of the priesthood. In the reign of Diocletian the two emperors were each styled Augustus (sacred majesty), and the two viceroys Cæsar. Prior to that time Hadrian limited the title of Cæsar to the heir presumptive. Augustus. Philippe II of France; so called because he was born in the month of August. (1165, 1180--1223.) Sigismund II of Poland. (1520, 1548--1572.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Augustus (pl. Augusti) is Latin for "majestic" or "venerable". It is chiefly significant as a cognomen first awarded to Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus (who styled himself "Imperator Caesar" on January 16, 27 BC, along with the office of princeps senatus (lit., "prince of the senate"), the parliamentary leader of the house. Caesar Augustus continued to be elected consul each year until 23 BC. He was given imperium maius (his supreme command outranked that of any provincial governor), and owned all of Aegyptus as private property (he had succeeded Cleopatra VII of Egypt as Pharaoh in 30 BC).In 23 BC, in the so-called "Second Settlement", the Senate voted him tribunicia potestas ("tribunician power"), thereby investing him with the powers of a tribune of the people, most importantly personal inviolability (sacrosanctitas) and the right to veto any act or proposal of any magistrate (ius intercessio). His power was further augmented in 19 BC when he accepted an ad personam grant of consular imperium (i.e., without holding the consulate itself) and in 18 BC when he was elected Pontifex Maximus.
Augustus subsequently became the principal rank associated with the Roman Emperors; a designated successor to an emperor adopted the title Caesar (later Nobilissimus Caesar, "Most Noble Caesar"), or would occasionally be awarded the title Princeps Iuventutis ("Prince of Youth"), and adopted the titles "Imperator" and Augustus upon accession to the full imperial dignity; a wife or mother of the emperor could be invested with the title Augusta. In this sense, "Augustus" is broadly comparable to "Emperor", though a modern reader should be careful not to project onto the ancients a modern, monarchical understanding of "emperor"; there was no constitutional office associated with the imperial dignity. The emperor's personal authority (dignitas) and influence (auctoritas) derived from his position as princeps senatus, and his legal authority derived from his consulari imperium and tribunicia potestas; it is more accurate to describe the emperor as "princeps senatus et pontifex maximus consulari imperio et tribuniciae potestate" (loosely, "Leader of the House and Chief Priest with Consular Imperium and Tribunician Power").
In many ways, Augustus is comparable to the British dignity of prince; it is a personal title, dignity, or attribute rather than a title of nobility such as duke or king. The emperor was most commonly referred to as princeps (basileys, "king", in Greek). Later, under the Tetrarchy, the rank of Augustus referred to the senior emperor, while Caesar referred to the junior sub-emperor. The three principle titles of the emperors -- Imperator, Caesar, and Augustus -- were rendered as autokratôr, kaisar, and augustos (or sebastos) in Greek. The Latin title of the so-called "Holy Roman Emperors" was usually "Imperator Augustus" ("August Emperor"), which conveys the modern understanding of "emperor" rather than the original Roman sense (i.e., the "first citizen" of the Republic).
As a note of historical interest, the first modern use of the original sense of "emperor" was in the French Republic (République française). Napoléon Bonaparte, who was already First Consul of the French Republic (Premier Consul de la République française) for life, was crowned "Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) in 1804; despite being ruled by an emperor, it continued to be the French Republic until 1808, when it was renamed the French Empire (Empire français).
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Augustus."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Bronze Augustus, Archaeological Museum, AthensAugustus Caesar (23 September 62 BC - 19 August AD 14), known earlier in his life as Octavian, was the first Roman Emperor. Although he preserved the outward forms of the Roman Republic, he ruled as an autocrat for more than 40 years. He ended a century of civil wars and gave Rome an era of peace, prosperity and imperial greatness. He is generally known to historians by the title "Augustus" (revered one), which he acquired in 27 BC.
Augustus was born at Rome with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus. His father , also Gaius Octavius, came from a respectable but undistinguished family of the equestrian order and was governor of Macedonia before his death in 58 BC. More importantly, his mother Atia was the niece of Rome's greatest soldier and de facto ruler, Julius Caesar. In 46 BC Caesar, who had no legitimate children, took his grand-nephew soldiering in Spain, and adopted him as his heir (see also adoption in Rome). He then took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
When Caesar was assassinated in March 44 BC, his young heir was with the army at Apollonia, in what is now Albania. He crossed over to Italy and recruited an army from among Caesar's veterans. At Rome he found Caesar's republican assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius, in control. After a tense standoff, he formed an uneasy alliance with Marcus Antonius and Marcus Lepidus, Caesar's principal colleagues. The three formed a junta called the Second Triumvirate, and launched a purge of those allied with the assassins.
Antonius and Octavianus then marched against Brutus and Cassius, who had fled to the east. At Philippi in Macedonia the Caesarian army was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed suicide (42 BC). Octavianus then returned to Rome, while Antonius went to Egypt. Here he allied himself with Queen Cleopatra, the ex-lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son Caesarion. The Roman dominions were now divided between Ovtavianus in the west and Antonius in the east. At a naval battle off Actium in Greece in 31 BC Octavianus defeated his rivals, who then fled to Egypt. He pursued them there, and after another defeat they committed suicide.
By 29 BC, at the age of 34, Octavianus was sole ruler of Rome, and the Senate granted him a string of titles, including Tribune, Consul, Pontifex Maximus (chief priest) and Augustus, by which title he became generally known. He was also Princeps (first citizen) and Imperator (commander-in-chief). From this latter title Augustus's regime came to be called an Empire, although the title was not hereditary and Augustus was careful to preserve the ancient facade of Roman republican government.
Augustus, having gained power by means of great audacity, ruled with great prudence. In exchange for near absolute power, he gave Rome 40 years of civic peace and increasing prosperity. He created Rome's first permanent army and stationed the legions along the Empire's borders, where they could not meddle in politics. A special unit, the Praetorian Guard, garrisoned Rome and protected the Emperor's person.
Augustus waged no major wars, instead merely advancing Rome's northern border to the natural frontier of the Danube. Further west, an attempt to advance into Germany ended in defeat at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9. Thereafter he accepted the Rhine as the Empire's permanent border. In the east he satisfied himself with establishing Roman control over Armenia and the Transcaucasus. He left the Parthian Empire alone.
In domestic matters, Augustus channelled the enormous wealth brought in from the Empire to keeping the army happy with generous payments, and keeping the Romans happy by beautifying the capital and staging magnificent games. He famously boasted that he "found Rome brick and left it marble." He built the Senate a new home, the Curia, and built temples to Apollo and to the Divine Julius. He also built a shrine near the Circus Maximus. It is recorded that he built both the Capitoline Temple and the Theater of Pompey without putting his name on them.
Roman rulers understood little about economics, and Augustus was no exception. Like all the Emperors, he over-taxed agriculture and spent the revenue on armies, temples and games. Once the Empire stopped expanding, and had no more loot coming in from conquests, its economy began to stagnate and eventually decline. The reign of Augustus is thus seen in some ways as the high point of Rome's power and prosperity. Augustus settled retired soldiers on the land in an effort to revive agriculture, but the capital remained dependent on grain imports from Egypt.
A patron of the arts, Augustus showered favours on poets, artists, sculptors and architects. Horace, Livy, Ovid and Vergil flourished under his protection, but in return they had to pay due tribute to his genius. He eventually won over most of the Roman intellectual class, although many still pined in private for the Republic. But by the time Augustus died, it was impossible to imagine a return to the old system. The only question was who would succeed him as sole ruler.
Like Caesar, Augustus had no legitimate son, although he married three times. By his second wife Scribonia he had a daughter, Julia, who had children by her marriage to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, but Julia's sons Gaius and Lucius died before he did. Finally he married Livia, a member of the powerful Claudian family, and adopted her son Tiberius Claudius. Tiberius succeeded peacefully in AD 14 when Augustus died, aged 76, in his bed: a feat few of his successors were to manage.
Augustus was deified soon after his death, and both his borrowed surname, Caesar, and his title, Augustus, became the permanent titles of the rulers of Rome for the next 400 years, and were still in use at Constantinople fourteen centuries after his death. The cult of the Divine Augustus continued until the Empire was converted to Christianity by Constantine in the 4th century. As a result we have many excellent statues and busts of the first, and in some ways the greatest, of the Emperors.
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Preceded by:
Julius Caesar, DictatorRoman emperors
Followed by:
Tiberius (14 - 37)Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Augustus Caesar."
Synonyms: AugustusSynonyms: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (n), Gaius Octavianus (n), Octavian (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Augustus |
| English words defined with "Augustus": Agrippina, Agrippina the Elder, Augustan, Augustan age ♦ Bouvines ♦ Imperator ♦ Julian calendar ♦ Old Style ♦ Pretorian bands ♦ Tiberius, Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Augustus": Actian Years, Augustus band ♦ City of Palaces, City of the Seven Hills ♦ Dying Sayings ♦ Grizel, Guiderius ♦ Kingly Titles ♦ Nicopolis ♦ Rinaldo ♦ Standards, Standards of Individuals. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "Augustus": Palace. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Augustus" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Afrikaan (August, Augustus), Dutch (August, Augustus), Flemish (August), Frisian (August), Latin (august, venerable). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Augustus Gibbons (XXX; writing credit: Rich Wilkes) Don't lose your head, Augustus. We wouldn't want anybody to lose that (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; writing credit: Roald Dahl) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Historische stoet. Eerste sortie. 3 augustus 1930 (1930) Charles Augustus Milverton (1922) Ommegang van Antwerpen 9 augustus 1920 (1920) Liberale betoging van 15 augustus 1912 (1912) Augustus (2003) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | San Francisco, California Survey by Sub-Assistant Augustus F. Rodgers, 1852 Topographic Survey T-352 Rodgers was the brother of naval officer John Rodgers. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Launch RODGERS - named for Coast Survey Assistant Augustus Rodgers, brother of Civil War hero Admiral John Rodgers. Vessel is outfitted for current observations. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
 | William Augustus Guy photographed by Ernest Edwards. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Augustus, I know everything. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Meeting of Governor Carver and Massasoit / drawn by H.L. Stevens ; eng'd. by Augustus Robin, N.Y. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Sculpture in the "big studio," the workshop for the assistants of Augustus St. Gaudens, Cornish, New Hampshire. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Antietam, Md. Seated: R. William Moore and Allan Pinkerton. Standing: George H. Bangs, John C. Babcock, and Augustus K. Littlefield. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | William Hazard and Moses Augustus Field, three-quarter length portrait, seated. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | S.S. Augustus B. Wolvin. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Augustus Saint-Gaudens, head-and-shoulders portrait. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Lock" by Craig Young Commentary: "Fort Augustus on Caledonian canal." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Augustus Caesar | More haste, less speed. |
| I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. | |
| Young men, hear an old man to whom old men hearkened when he was young. | |
| After this time I surpassed all others in authority, but I had no more power than the others who were also my colleagues in office. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Civil Liberties | Nigeria | In July the police banned the meeting of a group known as the Fourth Dimension, led by former Vice President Augustus Aikhomu, because of violence that occurred at a prior meeting in Benin City. (references) |
Human Rights | Zimbabwe | On December 8, Augustus Chacha, an MDC activist, was abducted from his home by suspected ZANU-PF supporters; his body was found in a reservoir near his home in Shurugwi district on December 10. A local ZANU-PF spokesman denied that the party was responsible for the killing. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | We are told of a certain Vedius Pollio, who, in the presence of Augustus, would have given a slave as food to his fish, for having broken a glass. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Augustus" is generally used as a noun (proper) -- approximately 97.06% of the time. "Augustus" is used about 374 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (proper) | 97.06% | 363 | 14,875 |
| Noun (plural) | 2.94% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Total | 100.00% | 374 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "Augustus" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Augustus | First name Male | 5,000 | 948 |
| Augustus | Last name | 1,000 | 9,064 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| "Augustus" is a name that signifies or is derived from: "great", "venerable", "increase", "increased", "augmented". | |||
| The following table summarizes names related to "Augustus." | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Related Name |
| Augustus | Male | Ancient Roman | N/A |
| Augustus | N/A | Biblical | N/A |
| Augusta | Female | English | Augustus |
| Augustine | Male | English | Augustus |
| Gus | Male | English | Augustus |
| Aukusti | Male | Finnish | Augustus |
| Auguste | Male | French | Augustus |
| August | Male | German | Augustus |
| Augusta | Female | Italian | Augustus |
| Augusto | Male | Italian | Augustus |
| Augusts | Male | Latvian | Augustus |
| August | Male | Polish | Augustus |
| Augusta | Female | Polish | Augustus |
| Augusto | Male | Portuguese | Augustus |
| Augusto | Male | Spanish | Augustus |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "Augustus": Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel ♦ Augustus band ♦ Charles Augustus Lindbergh ♦ James Augustus Henry Murray ♦ James Augustus Murray ♦ John Augustus Roebling ♦ Karl Augustus Menninger ♦ Sir James Augustus Henry Murray ♦ Sir James Augustus Murray ♦ Thomas Augustus Watson ♦ Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus ♦ William Augustus. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "Augustus": John-augustus. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "Augustus"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | Augustus (August). (various references) | |
Dutch | Augustus (August). (various references) | |
Esperanto | Aŭgusto. (various references) | |
French | Auguste (August). (various references) | |
German | August (August). (various references) | |
Manx | Keeill Chumain (Fort Augustus). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | augustusay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | Augusto (august, kingly). (various references) | |
Russian | Огастес, август (August). (various references) | |
Scottish | Cille Chuimein (Fort Augustus). (various references) | |
Spanish | Augusto (August, grand, stately). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | augusto, augustum. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Luke Chapter 2, Verse 1 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Egeneto de en taiV hmeraiV ekeinaiV exhlqen dogma para kaisaroV augoustou apografesqai pasan thn oikoumenhn |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Factum est autem in diebus illis exiit edictum a Caesare Augusto ut describeretur universus orbis |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Soþlice on þam dagum wæs geworden gebod fram þam casere augusto. þæt eall ymbehwyrft wære tomearcod; |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And it was don in tho daies, a maundement wente out fro the emperour August, that al the world schulde be discryued. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And it chaunced in thoose dayes: yt ther went oute a comaundment from Auguste the Emperour that all the woorlde shuld be taxed. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Now it came about in those days that an order went out from Caesar Augustus that there was to be a numbering of all the world. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Luke Chapter 2, Verse 1 |
| Cebuano | ¶ Ug nahitabo nga niadtong mga adlawa miabut gikan kang Cesar Augusto ang usa ka sugo sa pagpanglista sa tanang nanagpuyo sa tibuok kalibutan. |
| Croatian | U one dane izaðe naredba cara Augusta da se provede popis svega svijeta. |
| Danish | Men det skete i de dage, at en Befaling udgik fra Kejser Augustus, at al Verden skulde skrives i Mandtal. |
| Dutch | En het geschiedde in diezelfde dagen, dat er een gebod uitging van den Keizer Augustus, dat de gehele wereld beschreven zou worden. |
| Finnish | Ja tapahtui niinä päivinä, että keisari Augustukselta kävi käsky, että kaikki maailma oli verolle pantava. |
| French | En ce temps-là parut un édit de César Auguste, ordonnant un recensement de toute la terre. |
| German | Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit, daß ein Gebot von dem Kaiser Augustus ausging, daß alle Welt geschätzt würde. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Pada waktu itu Kaisar Agustus memerintahkan agar semua warga negara Kerajaan Roma mendaftarkan diri untuk sensus. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Pada masa itu juga keluarlah suatu titah Kaisar Augustus, menyuruhkan menghitung segala manusia di seluruh kerajaan itu. |
| Latvian | Bet notika, ka tanî laikâ íeizars Augusts izdeva pavçli, lai tiktu sarakstîta visa valsts. |
| Manx Gaelic | As haink eh gy-kione ayns ny laghyn shen, dy jagh sarey magh veih Cesar Augustus, dy beagh coontey er ny ghoaill jeh'n slane rheam. |
| Maori | ¶ I aua ra ka whakatakotoria he tikanga e Hiha Akuhata kia tuhituhia te ao katoa. |
| Norwegian | Og det skjedde i de dager at det utgikk et bud fra keiser Augustus at all verden skulde innskrives i manntall. |
| Portuguese | Naqueles dias saiu um decreto da parte de César Augusto, para que todo o mundo fosse recenseado. |
| Rumanian | Kn vremea aceea a iewit o poruncq de la Cezar August sq se knscrie toatq lumea. |
| Russian | ч ФЕ ДОЙ ЧЩЫМП ПФ ЛЕУБТС бЧЗХУФБ РПЧЕМЕОЙЕ УДЕМБФШ РЕТЕРЙУШ РП ЧУЕК ЪЕНМЕ. |
| Shuar | ¶ Wats, Juan akiiniamia Nú uwitin uunt akupin Akustu Ashí nunkanam aentsun Nekapmarartí tu chichakmiayi. |
| Swahili | Siku zile, tangazo rasmi lilitolewa na Kaisari Augusto kuwataka watu wote chini ya utawala wake wajiandikishe. |
| Swedish | Jesus födes i Betlehem, omskäres och frambäres i Jerusalems helgedom, besöker vid tolv års ålder Jerusalem, sitter i helgedomen och hör på lärarna och frågar dem. |
| Uma | ¶ Nto'u toe, rata hawa' ngkai Kaisar Agustus, mpohawai' bona hawe'ea tauna hi humalili' kamagaua' Roma ra'uki' hanga' -ra bona ra'inca kadea-ra. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Augustus" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Angustias, angustus, Augustas. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-g-s-s-t-u-u-u" | |
-2 letters: august. | |
-3 letters: gasts, gauss, gusts, stags. | |
-4 letters: gast, gats, gust, guts, sags, stag, tags, tass, taus, tugs, utas. | |
-5 letters: ass, gas, gat, gut, sag, sat, sau, tag, tas, tau, tug, uta, uts. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-g-s-s-t-u-u-u" | |
+5 letters: tsutsugamushi. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Names: Frequency 14. Names: Derived from 15. Expressions 16. Expressions: Internet | 17. Translations: Modern 18. Translations: Ancient 19. Bible Trace 20. Derivations | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
